With spring practice beginning today at the University of South Dakota, the Coyotes will begin the process of trying to make another small step forward that ends up looking like a big step forward.

Fourteen practices are between now and April 26, when the Coyotes play their spring game. USD will be trying to set the tone for fall camp with a team that is both stronger physically and stronger mentally. The offseason has been encouraging so far, with the coaching staff hoping to build on what the players have been doing in preparation.

"We've had a total of 405 personal bests in the weight room this offseason," coach Joe Glenn said. "The players have done a great job of getting stronger and faster. Now we want to take that momentum over to the practice field."

The Coyotes, who went 4-8 last year, are in very good shape at some key spots and will be looking at new names at other spots. Most intensely hit by graduation was the defensive backfield, where USD will be looking for four new starters. Renovating that unit will likely be a project that takes a while, but it has to start now.

"We really like some of the athletes we have at those spots," Glenn said. "I got to see a lot of them on the scout team. A guy like Jake Warner is an example. We recruited him and we didn't get him the first time but now he's here. He just squatted 505 pounds, best on the team. That's squatting the DakotaDome. And he's a whale of a football player."

Junior college recruit Chris Tyler, a defensive back at Iowa Western who enrolled at the semester break, is another who will be a top candidate to replace a crew of four seniors, and Will Armstead, a sophomore next fall, has impressed coaches when he's healthy.

"We have the talent," Glenn said. "We have a lot of younger guys who have been waiting to get their turn at bat. Now we just have to get them out there and teach them how we do things."

The Coyotes lose Tyler Starr from the linebacking crew, but return a strong group led by Keyen Lage and Auston Johnson. The defensive line will lose Emilious Davis but returns Drew Iddings and Nick Jacobs, who have been starters for two seasons.

The offense has small holes but no big ones. USD will have openings at guard, center, tight end and one receiver spot. What is most interesting about the offense is not so much what they're going to do to replace departed seniors as much as it will be finding roles for talented players coming back.

USD will have four tailbacks with starter credentials. Trevor Bouma returns as the leading ballcarrier from a year ago with 781 yards, though he was hobbled for the last month of the season. Jordan Roberts added 544 yards, though he too fought off injuries the second half of the season.

They'll be much deeper this year with the return of Jasper Sanders, who played two years ago but sat out last year with an injury, and Khorey Kilgore, a redshirt last season who impressed coaches.

"It's a cliche, but we're going to try to put the 11 best players on the field," offensive coordinator Wes Beschorner said. "Nile Banks is a good football player and we lined him up in the line, tight end and fullback last year – we found ways to get him on the field. We'll do the same thing with our tailbacks."

At quarterback, Kevin Earl established himself as the starter early last season and will be the No. 1 quarterback this spring. Beschorner doesn't sound like he's going to re-hand Earl the job automatically, however. The backup is Ryan Saeger, who will be in his third year in the program but hasn't thrown a pass in competition yet.

Earl threw for 1,920 yards in 10 games and eight starts last year, but coaches would like to see his completion percentage (52.5) go up and interceptions (9) go down.

"There were games where Kevin played really well and other games where he didn't play really well," Beschorner said. "We just have to get better all the way around. Ryan wants to be a starting quarterback here and Kevin knows that. We're trying to create as much competition at every position as we possibly can."